Automatically controlled toy boat



Jan. 19, 1932. T 1, HQHLT 1,841,443

AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED TOY BOAT Filed Jan. 51, 1929 35 :75 1 a/ 34- a0; 36 375g [ljllll Patented Jan. 19,1932

' HANS I. HOHLI, or SANTQ noivi iieo; nenmcraesl mc AUTOMATICALLY .conrno'rinnn Bonn Application filed January; 31, less. serialize; jeeef ivag f This invention relates to direction con trolling means for moving objects, such .as boats, or vehicles moving on land or in air. While this invention is particularly intended for use in connection With toys, it will be understood that it isnot to be restricted thereto.

One object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described, having improved wind operated means to control the course of a boat or other vehicle.

Another object of the invention'is the pro vision of a device of the nature set forth, including improved means controlled by the 16 wind and serving to keep the boat in a straight path. v

Another object of the invention is tofurnish adevice of the type mentioned, comprising means actuated by the wind and co;

20 operating with rudderto steentheboat through a predetermined angle after the boat has covered a given distance.

A further object of the inVention'isto provide a device of the nature specified in which the'turning thereof to the right or left may be predetermined, and which is simple in construction, comprises a minimum nurnber. of parts, is easy and reliable to operate, and eflicient in use to a high degree. 7 ,Other objects and advantages of themvention will become apparent as the specifi cation proceeds. I p

With the aforesaid objects in vi'e'w,the invention consists inthe novel combinations and arrangements of partshereinafter described in their preferred embodiments,

pointed out in the subj oined'clairns and illustrated on the annexed drawings, wherein like parts are designated by the same reference parts being in section.

' accordingly 5 is a top the same Fig; 6' i's a diagrammatic view illustrating the steering of a b oat, and showing the vane and rudder thereof different steerin positionsnq fi r 1 Fig. 7 diagrammatic view showing the operation of the steering means to keepa boat on astraight course.

The advantagesof the invention as here outlined are best realized when all of its fea tures and instrumentalities are combined in one and -the same structure, but, useful devices may be produced embodying less. than 1 the whole. r

' It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, "that the same may be" incorporated in several different constructions. -The accompanying drawings, therefore,

invention:

v p are submitted merely as show ng he preferred exempllfication of the 'Generally described, this invention pro videsmeans operated by the wind for con trolling the direction of an-object that is driven by' the windor is self propelled. If this object-should be a boat, then the means referred to a'ctuates the rudderyif a land vehicle,"thesteering wheels, and if an air vehicle, the rudder.

I The; saidrneans includes a vane whose direction is initially co-ordinated'with'that of the windso that the vane is in equilibrium. Should theobject-accidentally move oifa 'straight line"course, the vane is then at an 1 angle with the wind, and is movedthereby into the-direction of the'wind. In course "of executing such movement, the vanesteers the object'backrto a straight-course in the predetermined direction. ,The means referred to.

tioned. I r

The vane is also adaptedto steer the object, beingsswingable through an angle of to lie with its. free edge opposed .tolthejwind. This swinging movement-occurs after the object, or boathastraveleda given distance, and the meansfor causing such movement of the vane may be of any feasible character. At any rate, theivalie'i s moved by the wind and moves the, rudder to steer the.

is applicable fto. all *types of. vehicles imencarries a gear 35 and a boat. When the latter has completed a turn of 180, the previous movement. of the vane through an equivalent angle is counteracted, so that the vane Will then lie in equilibrium, with the fixed end thereof toward the wind, as initially arranged. The again proceed in a. straight. line. This steering device willbe found to be of particular utility also for objects moving in the air.

It may rection of steering of'the'boat, as for instance, in the racing of toy sailboats, where in order to simulate a natural appearance, certain' of the boats ought to turn. to port and others to starboard. For this purpose the vane may be offset from its axis, so as to turn either to one side or to the'other side thereof in the direction in. which it is offset. I

Referring in detail to the drawings, 10 denotes a device embodying the invention- The same includes the poop 1 1 of'a boat 12 to which is secured a frame 13 in alinement. with the keel of the boat. The latter may be made separately for attachment to any existing boat. Said frame includes a pair of vertically spaced bars 14, 15,v which are secured to the boat in any suitable manner, as shown at 16-, 17. Interconnecting said bars 14, are aplurality of vertical members 18, 19, which are spaced from onea'nother, th-us constituting what is in the nature of a box structure. The frameisformed with end projecting portions 20 ,v 21,. in which is journafed a vertical shaft 22, whereon is mounteda rudder 23. In the upper and lower members 14-, 15 are a pair of central alined bearings 24, 25, in which is journaled a vertical shaft 26 carrying a rotor 27. The latter is of any suitable type/thou h the rotor shown, and which is specifically escribed in my Patent No. 1,656,485 dated January 17th, 1928, is preferably employed.

On the member 14, are a plurality of additional bearings 28-, 29 and 30 in which are journaled spindles 31, 32 and- 33. The first of theseearries a gear 34, and each. of the others pinion 36. .On the: upper end of the rotor shaft 26 is a pinion 37. The several gears and pinion-s interme'sh to form a gear train for a purpose. hereinafter more particularly set forth; 7

The frame 13- supports thereon a bracket 38 of U-form, the arms where'ofconstitute bearings 39, 40*, in which is journal'ed a vertical shaft 41. A pair of intermeshing gears 42,43, of equal size are mounted on the shafts 41 and 22, respectively. The shaft 41 is movable inits longitudinal direction to disengage the gears 42, 43: and permit. reengagement' of the same on lowering the shaft 41, at a differ ent angular relation with respect to rudder shaft 22. To limit the upward movement of the shaft 41, a stop 44 is provided at the lower end thereof. I

On its upper end, the shaft 41 fixedly carries abracket 45 upon which ismounted a vane boat will then f.

be desired to predetermine the di-I vane. A coil spring 53 takes around the said pin, and has one end thereof extending into a hole; 54 in the bracket, while-the other end thereof is secured to the vane at 55. A. cord, or other tension member 56, engages the vane at 5 7 andpasses downward through eyes 58,

59011 the shaft 41, and from the latter to a post on the gear 34, to be described hereinafter. v

The bracket 45 is so related to the shaft 41. as to be offset laterally therefrom. Accordingly the hole 47 in the said bracket is at one end thereof, as'may be readily seen in Fig. 2-. At its other end, the bracket 45 has a lug 61 which has a similar threaded hole 62. The. vane 46 is seen to be substantially centrally positioned between the holes 47 and 62, so that, when the mast 41 is screwed into hole 47 the vane is to the right of the keel, of the boat, looking from aft to forward; when. the mast is screwed into hole 62, the vane isat the opposite'side of the keel. In each case it is offset an equal distance. It is thus seen. that provision has been made for. rapidly moving the vane, to one side or the other of the shaft 41, to predetermine the direction of steering of the boat.

The gear 34 is provided with a plurality of angular openings 63 which are circularly arranged about the axis of the said gear. The said post or. pin 60 has a shank 64 to snugly fit detachably into one of said openings. A cylindrical. body 65 surmounts the shank 64, said body having a notch 66 at one side thereof, and having an opposite bevel or cam surface 67. With the notch 66 facing ina direction away from the shaft 41, the cord 56 takes around the pin 60 at the said notch, by means of a loop 68 in the cord. The latter exerts a downward tension on the vane 46,v which opposes the spring 53, and retains the vane inthe position shown in Fig. 1.

The operation ofthe device 10 will now be clearly. apparent. Assume that the wind comes'in the direction of the arrow at in Fig. 2, and it is desired to have the boat sail a straight course. The rudder 23 is placed in alinement with the heel of the boat. Then the shaft 41 is lifted, raising the gear 42 and causing the same to unmesh with the teeth of the gear 43. The cord 56 may be released from the pin 60 to permit the shaft 41 to be raised as stated, or there may be sufficient flexibility for this purpose in the spring 53. With the gears 42, 43. disengaged, the shaft 41 is turned until the vane-46 lies substantially in the direction of the wind. The shaft 41 is then lowered to. cause the gears 42,43

to engage. Thereafter the pin 60 is placed in a proper opening 63 in the gear 34 and forth, is determined by the following considerations. .a given speed reduction, for example, that The gear train is designed for the rotor 27 make 10,000 rotations to cause one rotation of the gear 34. Thus the rotor will make 5,000 turns to move the gear 34 tl'lrough an angle of 180. If the pin 60 be placed diametrically opposite to the shaft 41, the cord 56 will remain engaged with said pin until the gear 34, and consequently, the pin 60, has made a turn of substantially 180, at which time the loop 68 of the cord will disengage the said pin by being outside the said notch 66 and sliding upward along the cam 67. Now, by initially placing the pin 60 at various angular positions on the gear 34, the number of rotations necessary of the rotor 27 to cause the cord 56 to be released can be increased or decreased.

The rotor 27 turns in a constant direction, and the speed thereof may be governed by various factors including the relative speed as between the boat and the water, though,

7 where the boat is used on still water, the

time at which the cord is released will be substantially a function of the distance traveled by the boat Now assume that the boat is for any reason thrown out of a straight course as shown in Fig. 7. The vane moves substantially into the direction I) of the wind indicated by wind, the latter begins to turn the vane.

arrow 0, and by means of gears 42, 43 moves the rudder 23 in an opposite direction d, thus returning the boat to its initial course. This operation is the same regardless of the nature of the factor that throws the boat off its course, or of its direction.

After the boat has traveled a substantially predetermined distance in a straight line. with a corresponding number of rotations of the rotor 27, the cord 56 will be released as hereinbefore stated, and the spring 53 will throw the vane 46 in an upward direction and through an angle of 180 in a vertical plane into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This initiates the steering of the boat as shown in Fig. 6. In this figure, the arrows 0 indicate the direction of the wind.

The boat 12 is traveling from right to left as and occupies the position of a vane 4611-.

Since the free edge of the vane is toward the The dE- ection of the turning of the vane with its shaft 41, will in this particular instance, be

clockwise,tdue' to theoflsetof thevane from i the. aXis of the shaft, asset forth in connec: tiongwith the description, of the bracket 45: The vane moves the rudder in a countercl0Ick-' wise direction,-causing the boat 12a to steer tostarboard', Certain of the positions that the boat progressively assumes as it, steers completely'around are indicated at 126 to 12m The wind'acts continuously onthe vane, causing the rudder to be gradually; deflected, while the boat is simultaneouslyv steering. the speed of steering maycontinually increase up toapo'sition approximately at 12d where the vane 46d may be substantially in aline- "mentwith the wind, while the rudder 2303 is at an angle with the keel. 1 As the boat moves Thus from 1261 to 126, thewind will retain in its direction thefvane 46d; i.' e., the vane will; movefwith respect to the boat in a counter: clockwise direction. This will cause the rud der 23d tormove in a-clockwise direction. In

I position12e,th e rudder is again in alinement;

with the keel of the boat, and the vane, of

course, lie'sin equilibrium in the direction of the wind. The'boat has thus substantially reversed its direction, and is traveling as 7 shown by arrow g. r When it is desired that a race be run between a plurality of toy boats,.then, in order to simulate a perfectly natural appearance in the steeringof the boats, certain of the boats ought to turn to port and others to starboard. This is'accomplishe'd by adjust-ingthe'bracket 45 to cause the shaft 41 to be received in the hole 47 or in thehole 62, or, in other words,

the direction of. offset of-the vane 46 from the V shaft '41is varied, and therefore the direction of initial turning of the vane in position 1211,

tor, and operating means actuated by the motor along a portion of the path of travel of the object,said motor causing the operating means to steer the object automatically after a predetermined run of the object, said operating means including a tension member and a spring released thereby to move the steering means.

2. A device of the character described, including a movable object, steering means for the object, and a wind actuated vane operating the steering means to keep the object on a substantially constant course as long as the wind is constant, and means to automatically move the vane through a predetermined angle with respect to the wind to cause the vane to steer the object.

3. A device of the character described, in-

cluding a movable object, steering means for the object, and a wind actuated vaneoperating the steering means to keep the object on v a substantially constant course as long as the wind is constant, and a member rotating as a result of the movement of said object, said member holding the vane until having made a given number of revolutions, when said member releases the vane to cause the same to move through a predetermined angle with the wind after making a given number of rotations, said member subsequently releasing the vane, said Vane actuating the rudder to steer the object.

in said rotatable member coacts with the vaneto permit the same to move through an angle of substantialy 180 causing the object to steer completely around in the opposite direction.

5. A device as set forth in claim 3, wherein the vane is mounted for swinging movement through an angle of 180 and in a vertical release by said rotating member.

6. A device as set forth in claim 3, wherein automatic means is provided tending to move the vane through the angle referred to, said rotating member holding the vane in initial position, said rotating member releasing the vane, as set forth, to cause the automatic means to move the Vane. I

7. A device as set forth in claim 2, wherein the vane is mounted for movement about a vertical axis in offset relation thereto in one or the opposite direction according as the object is to steer in one or the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

HANS I. HOHLT.

4:. A device as set forth in claim 8, Whereplane, to completely steer said object upon 

